Crown Bank Isn't Ready To Cash In, But Calls Pour In Anyway

BANKING

Crown Bank, an idiosyncratic thrift that specializes in home-equity lending, is like many other banks in one way: It's hearing from lots of would-be buyers.

``I've had seven calls in three weeks'' from out-of-state banks and insurance companies, said John A. Koegel, president of the Casselberry federal savings bank.

So, while the plan to merge Citicorp and Travelers Group is getting all the attention, the trend of companies crossing historical lines to get into other businesses is perceptible far down the financial food chain.

Koegel reckons banks and insurers have started to notice Crown because they see the better margins possible in home-equity loans compared with standard mortgages.

But any sale of Crown would be up to John F. Havens, a former chairman of Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One Corp. He and his family own the majority of stock in the bank's parent company, Crown Group Inc.

Koegel said Havens is unlikely to cash in yet.

Through the bank and AABCO Mortgage Loans & Investments, which is a mortgage company, Crown Group expects to originate about $600 million in loans this year. And Koegel said he would like to crank that up to $1 billion or $1.5 billion.

He said that Crown probably will need a big partner - a bank or insurance company - for a few years that can lend Crown the kind of cash it needs to ``warehouse'' the loans it generates before it sells them.

When Havens does seek a buyer, Koegel said, that partner may be a good candidate.

Offers abound elsewhere

Speaking of the accelerated melding of financial services, some other Florida companies apparently have had some nibbles.

A run-up in the stock price of Raymond James Financial Inc., a St. Petersburg brokerage, sparked rumors it might be for sale.

They must surely have had offers, ``as has our little company,'' said Benjamin C. Bishop Jr., a minority partner in Allen C. Ewing & Co., an investment banking firm with offices in Orlando.

But because Chairman Tom James and employees own a majority of the stock in Raymond James, there won't be a deal until James is ready, Bishop said.

And about the offers Ewing has had?

``I'm not even going to talk about that,'' Bishop said.

Bank card holdup

SunTrust Banks Inc. is a little behind schedule, but it expects to roll out its smart-card cash substitute in Disney's Celebration community by June.

The smart card is a microchip-imbedded card. It can record all kinds of information, including cash value that can be subtracted by machine when the cardholder makes a purchase.

The project was supposed to have been launched in January, but ``we just couldn't get the cards made fast enough,'' said Carolyn Gosselin, a SunTrust spokeswoman.

Next month, SunTrust will be testing some of the cards at its downtown Orlando headquarters, she said.

The project is billed as a test but no defined duration has been set.

Mark your calendar

The U.S. Senate banking committee is planning to vote the week of April 27 on its own version of a bill passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives that would give credit unions virtually unrestricted rights to bring in new membership groups.

Mortgage mania

Delaware Savings Bank's Maitland-based mortgage-production office is gearing up to get in on some of the refinancing frenzy that low interest rates have been driving.

And the mortgage office is expanding its reach to top-grade mortgages.

Until recently, Delaware Savings had concentrated on lending to borrowers with some credit problems in so-called B- and C-grade paper, said Terry Carlson, branch manager.

Delaware Savings, a federal savings bank based in Wilmington, Del., has only mortgage-lending offices in Florida.